According to the AIIB website, the objective of the project is to improve Solid Waste Management (SWM) services in selected Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Bangladesh.

The Project includes the following components:

Component 1: Waste Collection and Transportation will improve and optimize solid waste collection and transport services in selected ULBs. This component will include investments in: (i) expansion of primary waste collection; (ii) improvement of primary and secondary waste storage facilities; and (iii) construction and rehabilitation of transfer stations.

Component 2: Waste Processing and Disposal will finance prioritized waste processing and disposal infrastructure, including closure and/or rehabilitation of polluted waste dump sites, construction and/or rehabilitation of engineered sanitary landfills, and provision of facilities related to composting and resource recovery.

Component 3: Institutional Development, Capacity Building and Project Management Support will strengthen the institutional capacity for relevant central and local agencies in SWM. This will also support project management, monitoring and evaluation, environmental and social (including public awareness campaign and public consultation, support for informal waste pickers), procurement, financial management, and provide necessary support with respect to supervision and maintenance of infrastructure investments.

The Project is expected to: (i) reduce exposure to pollutants and disease vectors (in air, water, soil) associated with solid waste; (ii) promote commercial and operational modernization in the sector through the development of regional landfills and the associated optimization of collection, transport and transfer services within regional SWM systems; (iii) enable alternate service delivery models, including private sector participation for SWM in the country; (iv) strengthen the regulatory framework in the sector and build capacity among national, regional and local actors; (v) deepen efforts to encourage waste minimization, recycling and source separation in the context of commercially viable regional operations; and (vi) reduce poverty and vulnerability among waste pickers through the development of appropriate social inclusion and economic transition programs.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

The Bank's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP) including the Environmental and Social Exclusion List (ESEL) and relevant Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) will be applicable to the Project. As per the Bank's ESP, the Project is proposed to be Category A, considering the nature of Project activities are in a dense urban space with potential direct and cumulative impacts. Since not all subprojects to be financed under the Project are identifiable upfront, a framework approach will be adopted for the Project. As part of Project preparation, environmental and social (ES) instruments, such as the Environmental and Social Management Planning Framework (ESMPF), Resettlement Planning Framework (RPF), Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) will be prepared. The ESMPF will provide guidance on pre-investment works/studies (such as ES screening, assessment, management plans etc.), provide a set of steps, procedures, and mechanisms for ensuring adequate level of ES consideration and integration in each investment during the Project-cycle; and describes the principles, objectives and approach to be followed to avoid or minimize or mitigate impacts and risks according to the Bank's ESSs.

Environment:
The inefficient collection and management of solid waste in Bangladesh has led to pollution of water bodies and land areas as well as public health. Improvement of SWM will have a significant beneficial improvement on the general environment and livability of its urban centers. The waste sector in Bangladesh is governed by regulations which are comprehensive. During construction of solid waste management facilities, construction related impacts including temporary disturbances to the community are expected. Biodiversity impacts are not expected to be critical as these activities are carried out in the urban areas and/or peri-urban areas. Screening of impacts and appropriate instruments will be part of the Environmental and Social Management Planning Framework (ESMPF) procedures for all participating ULBs.

Social:
Project activities will take place at up to 20 ULBs in which land is available. The land for the identified Project activities is currently under the ownership of the ULB. Screening will take place to confirm if squatters and encroachers are present on these lands. The land acquisition and resettlement, if required, may cause temporary and permanent economic and physical displacement of both titleholder and non-titleholders. It may also have disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups, including tribal population, women, the elderly, those below the poverty line, waste pickers, and lead to loss of jobs, business income and tenancy rights. In order to mitigate the adverse social impacts of the Project, a draft RPF is being prepared along with ESMPF. The RPF inclusive of an entitlement matrix and livelihood restoration plan is being prepared to describe the approach, principles and procedures that will be followed to manage and mitigate physical and economic displacement. The RPF is the precursor to preparation of a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The RAP will be prepared in accordance with national laws and policies, the Bank's ESP and ESSs. A gender analysis is to be conducted as part of the screening and ESIA will aim to identify roles and activities carried out by men and women in SWM activities including separation of waste at source, reuse of waste materials, street sweeping, collection, sorting, and transportation. Moreover, among other items, emphasis will also be provided to better understand the views of women and men on the waste collection sites in the community and collection schedules, level of knowledge on SWM, differentiated impacts on women and men in other regards, such as livelihood, workload, employment opportunities and pay gap, and health and safety. A Project specific gender and social inclusion action plan will be developed to enhance mainstreaming of vulnerable groups.

Consultations and information disclosure:
The Project is in the process of preparing a meaningful and culturally appropriate Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP). Along with outlining the disclosure strategy of the Project, the plan will highlight how consultation and communication will be carried out throughout the Project cycle, a proposed strategy for public consultation has been encapsulated in the ESMPF. The SEP will identify all categories of stakeholders and the client will inform them the design of the mitigation measures and ES assessments in a timely and appropriate manner, including prepared ESMPF, RPF, and the ESIA and ESMP. These documents will be also disclosed on the Bank's website. Printed documents will be made available in the Project area.

Monitoring and supervision arrangement:
The Project Management Unit (PMU) will have the overall responsibility of results M&E for the Project. It will coordinate the collection of data and individual monitoring reports from Project Implementation Units (PIUs) and submit consolidated progress reports to AIIB periodically. AIIB will conduct onsite visit during project preparation and implementation. Detailed arrangements with clearly defined roles and responsibilities as well as the templates for periodic and annual progress reports will be developed and integrated into the ESMPF and finalized before final review.

Grievance Redressal Mechanism:
A two tiered Project-specific and gender sensitive Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) will be established by the client to receive, acknowledge, evaluate and facilitate the resolution to the complaints relating to ES issues with corrective actions proposed, those issues raised from project-affected people (PAPs) as well as project contracted workers. In addition to this, each subproject under the Project will also be required to establish its GRM. This will be undertaken using understandable and transparent processes that are gender responsive, culturally appropriate and readily accessible to all segments of the PAPs. Records of grievances received, corrective actions taken, and their outcomes shall be properly documented and maintained. The Information of established project-level GRMs as well as the information of AIIB's Project-affected People's Mechanism (PPM) will be disseminated to the related stakeholders of the Project in a timely and an appropriate manner.

AIIB

Sangmoo Kim

Senior Investment Operations Specialist (Urban)

sangmoo.kim@aiib.org

BORROWER

Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky

Additional Secretary & Wing Chief (Asia, JEC, F&F), Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance

wingchief08@erd.gov.bd

IMPLEMENTING ENTITY

Hamidul Haque

Project Director, LGED

pd.crdp2@gmail.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.aiib.org/en/contact/information-request/index.html

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AIIB

The AIIB has established the Accountability Mechanism for Project-Affected People (PPM). The PPM provides Òan opportunity for an independent and impartial review of submissions from Project-affected people who believe they have been or are likely to be adversely affected by AIIBÕs failure to implement the ESP in situations when their concerns cannot be addressed satisfactorily through Project level GRMs or AIIB Management processes.Ó Two or more project-affected people can file a complaint. Under the current AIIB policy, when the bank co-finances a project with another development bank, it may apply the other bank's standards. You can refer to the Project Summary Information document to find out which standards apply. You can learn more about the PPM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.aiib.org/en/about-aiib/who-we-are/project-affected-peoples-mechanism/how-we-assist-you/index.html

The complaint submission form can be accessed in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, Chinese, English, Tagalog, Hindi, Nepali, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu. The submission form can be found at: https://www.aiib.org/en/about-aiib/who-we-are/project-affected-peoples-mechanism/submission/index.html